Our centre
Established 1977, and still run by a volunteer parent board.
Sunset Child Care Society is a registered non-profit that has cared for families in South Vancouver since January 1977. Twenty-five children, one house, a very big yard, a staff of licensed early childhood educators, and a board of parent volunteers who run the society. Start anywhere below.
What Sunset is
Sunset is a parent co-operative. The families whose children attend are the members of the society, and an elected volunteer board of those parents runs it. There are no shareholders and no owner taking a margin. Any money the daycare makes goes back into the daycare.
That structure is the reason the place feels the way it does. Twenty-five children is small enough that every educator knows every child, and every family, by name. It also means parents are not customers here. Each family gives about two hours a month, whether that is a repair, a gardening morning, sitting on the board or helping at an event, and that shared work is what keeps the fees where they are.
How it runs
- Licensed group child careUp to 25 children at a time, staffed by licensed early childhood educators (ECEs)
- Ages three to fiveWith up to two places held for children aged two and a half to three
- Full time onlyMonday to Friday, 7:30am to 5:30pm
- Hot lunch cooked on siteEvery day, included in the fee
- A house, not a roomIn a larger building, with one of the biggest yards of any centre in the area
- Administered by Little Mountain Neighbourhood HouseSince 1998. They handle payroll and the back office so the board can focus on the centre
A co-operative asks more of families than a private centre does, and it gives more back. If you want to understand what that actually looks like week to week, the pages above go through the day, the people, the food and the building in detail. Better still, come and see it.
Looking for a space?
Our waitlist is open. We will call you as soon as a space comes up.